List of the prehistoric life of Illinois
This list of the prehistoric life of Illinois contains the various prehistoric life-forms whose fossilized remains have been reported from within the US state of Illinois.
Precambrian
The Paleobiology Database records no known occurrences of Precambrian fossils in Illinois.
Paleozoic
Selected Paleozoic taxa of Illinois
- †Achatella
- †Actinoceras
- †Alethopteris
†Amphibamus – type locality for genus
Life restoration of the Carboniferous amphibian Amphibamus - †Amphibamus grandiceps – type locality for species
- †Amphiscapha
- †Amynilyspes – type locality for genus
- †Annularia
- †Annularia asteris – or unidentified comparable form
- †Annularia stellata
- †Anomphalus – type locality for genus
- †Anthracoceras
- †Archaeocidaris – tentative report
- †Archaeopteris
- †Archimedes
- †Archimylacris
- †Arctinurus
†Arthrolycosa – type locality for genus
Illustration of a fossil of the Carboniferous-Permian spider Arthrolycosa. Charles Emerson Beecher (1889). - †Artisia
- †Asterotheca
- †Asterotheca miltoni – or unidentified comparable form
- †Asyncritus – type locality for genus
- †Athyris
- †Atrypa
- †Atrypa reticularis – report made of unidentified related form or using admittedly obsolete nomenclature
- †Aviculopecten
- † Avonia
- †Bandringa – type locality for genus
- †Bassleroceras
- †Bellerophon
- †Belinurus
- †Bembexia
- †Blattoidea
†Brachydectes
Life restoration of the Carboniferous amphibian Brachydectes - †Bumastus
- †Bumastus armatus – or unidentified comparable form
- †Bumastus chicagoensis
- †Bumastus cuniculus – or unidentified comparable form
- †Bumastus graftonensis
- †Bumastus insignis
- †Bumastus springfieldensis
- †Bumastus transversalis
- †Calamites
- †Callipteridium
- †Calvinia
- †Calymene
- †Calyptaulax
- †Camarotoechia
†Caseodus
Life restoration of the Carboniferous Chimaera relative Caseodus - †Cephalerpeton – type locality for genus
- †Cephalerpeton ventriarmatum – type locality for species
- †Ceratiocaris
- †Ceratocephala
- †Ceraurinella
- †Ceraurinus
- †Ceraurus
- †Cheirurus
- †Chonetes
- †Cleiothyridina
- †Clepsydrops – type locality for genus
- †Cliftonia
†Coelacanthus
Life restoration (foreground) of the Permian-Jurassic lobe-finned fish Coelacanthus - †Composita
- †Conocardium
- †Cooperoceras
- †Cordaicarpus
- †Cordaites
- †Cornulites
- †Crania
- †Craniops
†Cricotus – type locality for genusFossilized skeleton of the Carboniferous-Permian reptile relative Cricotus - †Crotalocrinites
- †Ctenacanthus
- †Ctenacanthus buttersi – type locality for species
- †Curriella – tentative report
- †Cyathocrinites
- †Cyclonema
- †Cyclus
- †Cyphaspis
- †Cyrtoceras
- †Dalmanites
- †Deiphon
- †Dicoelosia
- †Dictyonema
- †Dimerocrinites
†Diplocaulus – type locality for genusFossilized axial skeleton of the Carboniferous-Permian amphibian Diplocaulus - †Domatoceras
- †Echinaria
- †Edestus
- †Edmondia
- †Elonichthys
- †Encrinurus
- †Eodictyonella
- †Eophacops
- †Eospirifer
- †Erratencrinurus
- †Eucalyptocrinites
- †Euomphalus
†Euphoberia – type locality for genus
Illustration of fossil of the Carboniferous millipede Euphoberia - †Euphoberia armigera – type locality for species
- †Favosites
- †Fenestella
- †Fletcheria
- †Gerarus – type locality for genus
- †Glikmanius
- †Glyptambon
- †Glyptopleura
- †Gondolella
- †Graeophonus
- †Graeophonus scudderi – type locality for species
- †Greenops
†Greererpeton
Life restoration of the Carboniferous four-limbed animal precursor Greererpeton - †Hallopora – tentative report
- †Halysites
- †Harpidium
- †Helenodora – type locality for genus
- †Helenodora inopinata – type locality for species
- †Heliomeroides
- †Holia
- †Hyolithes
- †Ilyodes
- †Isodectes
†IsotelusFossil of the Middle-Late Ordovician giant trilobite Isotelus. - †Kionoceras
- †Latzelia – type locality for genus
- †Latzelia primordialis – type locality for species
- †Lepidodendron
- †Lepidophyllum
- †Lepidostrobus
- †Lichas
- †Lingula
- †Liroceras
- Lithophaga – tentative report
†Lysorophus – type locality for genus
Life restoration of the Permian snake-like amphibian Lysorophus showing speculative egg-coiling behavior - †Marsupiocrinus
- †Meristina
- †Metacoceras
- †Milosaurus – type locality for genus
- †Monograptus
- †Murchisonia
- †Naticopsis
- †Naticopsis carleyana
- †Naticopsis planifrons
- †Naticopsis waterlooensis – type locality for species
- †Nemastomoides – type locality for genus
- †Neospirifer
†Neuropteris
Fossilized frond of the Carboniferous seed fern Neuropteris - †Nodonema
- Nucula
- †Nuculoidea – tentative report
- †Onychopterella – tentative report
- †Palenarthrus – type locality for genus
- †Palenarthrus impressus – type locality for species
- †Paraisobuthus
- †Pecopteris
- †Pentremites
- †Periechocrinus
- †Phacops
†Phlegethontia
Life restoration of the Carboniferous-Permian amphibian Phlegethontia. - †Phlegethontia longissima – type locality for species
- †Phragmolites
- †Platyceras
- †Platysomus
- †Platystrophia
- †Plicochonetes
- †Polysentor – type locality for genus
- †Priapulites – type locality for genus
- †Priapulites konecniorum – type locality for species
- †Prodentalium
- †Proetus
†Protophasma
Life restoration of the Carboniferous insects Protophasma and Titanophasma - †Protopilio
- †Pseudophlegethontia – type locality for genus
- †Pseudophlegethontia turnbullorum – type locality for species
- †Pterochiton
- †Pterotheca
- †Rasstriga – type locality for genus
- †Rasstriga americana – type locality for species
- †Remopleurides
- †Rhodea
- †Rhynchonella
- †Saccoglossus
- †Sagenodus
- †Samaropsis
- †Savagella
- †Scepasma – type locality for genus
†Sigillaria
Fossilized stump of the Carboniferous-Permian club moss relative Sigillaria - †Silphion – type locality for genus
- † Simplicius
- †Skenidioides
- Solemya
- †Solenochilus
- †Sphaerexochus
- †Sphaerocoryphe
- †Sphenophyllum
- †Sphenophyllum cuneifolium
- †Sphenophyllum emarginatum
- †Sphenophyllum longifolium – or unidentified comparable form
- †Sphenopteris
- †Stearoceras
- †Stethacanthus
- †Stigmaria
- †Strophomena
- †Symmorium – type locality for genus
- †Syringopora
- †Tainoceras
- †Tentaculites
- †Tranodis
†Tullimonstrum – type locality for genus
Restoration of the mysterious Carboniferous life-form Tullimonstrum, or the Tully monster - †Wilkingia
- †Worthenia
- †Xyloiulus
- Yoldia
Mesozoic
The Paleobiology Database records no known occurrences of Mesozoic fossils in Illinois.
Cenozoic
- Agabus
- †Agabus praelugens – type locality for species
- †Agabus savagei – type locality for species
- †Anomodon – type locality for genus
- †Anomodon snyderi – type locality for species
- †Araloselachus
- †Araloselachus cuspidata
- Arvicola
- †Bananogmius
- †Bananogmius crieleyi – or unidentified comparable form
- Bison
†Bison antiquus
Mounted fossilized skeleton of the Pleistocene Bison antiquus, or ancient bison - †Bison bison
- Blarina
- †Bootherium
- Carabus
- Castor
- †Castoroides
- †Cervalces
- †Cervalces latifrons – tentative report
†Cervalces scotti
Life restoration of the Pleistocene Cervalces scotti, or stag-moose
- Chelonia
- Chlaenius
- †Chlaenius plicatipennis – type locality for species
- Conopeum
- †Conopeum damicornis
- Donacia
- †Donacia stirioides – type locality for species
- Equus
- Esox
- †Euceratherium
- Geomys
- †Ischyodus
- †Ischyodus williamsae
- Lasiopodomys
- †Lasiopodomys deceitensis
- †Mammut
- †Mammuthus
†Mammuthus primigenius
Restoration of a herd of Mammuthus primigenius, or wooly mammoths
- Marmota
- †Megalonyx
- Mesalia
- †Mesalia alabamiensis
- Microtus
- †Microtus paroperarius
- Natica
- †Natica reversa
- Olophrum
- †Olophrum henryi – type locality for species
- Ostrea
- †Ostrea pulaskensis
- †Pachyrhizodus
- Patrobus
- †Patrobus henshawi – type locality for species
- Peromyscus
- Pitar – tentative report
- †Pitar ripleyanus
- Pituophis
†Platygonus – type locality for genus
Restoration of a herd of alarmed Miocene-Pleistocene peccaries of the genus Platygonus. Charles R. Knight (1922). - †Platygonus compressus – type locality for species
- †Platygonus cumberlandensis – tentative report
- Platynus
- †Platynus calvini – type locality for species
- †Platynus pleistocenicus – type locality for species
- †Platynus subgelidus – type locality for species
- Procyon
- †Procyon lotor – type locality for species
- †Propenser
- †Propenser hewletti
- †Ptychodus
- Rangifer
†Rangifer tarandus
A living Rangifer tarandus, or reindeer
- †Sangamona
- †Sangamona fugitiva
- Sorex
- †Strepsidura
- †Strepsidura contorea
- Sylvilagus
- Ursus
- Venericardia
- †Venericardia smithii
References
- Various Contributors to the Paleobiology Database. "Fossilworks: Gateway to the Paleobiology Database". Retrieved August 7, 2017.